Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, May 23, 1900, Page 9, Image 9

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    THE OMAHA DAILY IVEE: WEDNESDAY. MAY 2, li)00.
STORY OF A RAILROAD CAREER
Gwsl Shorter Twentj-FlT Yein Ago,
Conductor Up to Eight Yoan Ago.
PLUMES IN THE BONNET OF SUCCESS
Jiimpeil In iUf IIpikI of the l,itrn-M
KurfniM- llnllroml MyxIrniN In the
World Ileenuie He Kiiimv Ilia
Illinium 'I'lioniUKlil'
When, in eight years, a man bocats him
self from conductor on a small xtcam rail
road to tho head of the greatest ayetcm of
surface rallroails in tho world; when, In
tho name length of time, ho Increases b o
earthly poMiwslonii from nothing to $l,O0O,Oua
or so, In cash, real estate or gllt-edgo eo
ciirltUn, and does It all In a city of "pulls"
through no other "pull" than his own ability,
lie Is likely e ,it himself talked about.
I'coplo want to t, ow wbut kind of a man
ho In unil J lint huw ho boa done to much In
bo short a time. They want to know how
old ho Is, whero he was born, whoso kou
ho was, Tbcso and a hundred other ques
tion!) aro being asked today about Herbert
11. Vrcelnnd, president of nil the surface
railroads on Manhattan Island und In the
llronx, and nald by some to bo destined to
toon become tho president of nil tho surface
roads In tho live boroughs of (Jroater New
York.
Tho story of Mr. Vrcclnnd'n career, art
recounted by tho Now York Sun, Is u story
of hard work and everlasting application to
whatever was given him to do. There tfi
not much romanco In It, unices obtaining,
nt tho ago of 13, a reward for his labor
greater than that which comew to most men
lit tho end of a lifetime, luay bo regarded
toy realists a romantic. You couldn't get
Air. Vrceland to admit that his career has
been Important enough to draw any lesions
from, but If you wero to ask blm what
advice he would glvo to a young ruan who
wants to got on In tho world, bo would
probably tell you something like this;
"Get a Job, It doesn't matter much what,
nnd then make It your business to learn
more about that Job than anybody cleo on
earth. Then you will have a.capltnl that
nobody can take nway from you unless he
kills you, and tho value of your life will
then bo tho measure of your value to your
employer. And whllo you nro acquiring
this knowledge, acqulro tho habit of being
courteous to ovcrybody. Courtesy costs
nothing and It may nlwoys bo scheduled as
ft quick asset."
Mr. Vreoland was tho son of a man who
wouldn't bo a minister Just becauso his
father wanted him to. Tho assertion of tho
right to choose whether ho would bo a mln
Inter or something else made It necessary
for the son to Icavo homo nnd hustlo for
lilmself. Thus It happened that Herbert H.
Vreoland was born a poor man's eon. His
only hcrltago was character nnd brains. Ho
was born In tho llttlo town of Olen Kails,
N. Y In 1857. Ho was tho youngest of sev
eral children, nnd not long after he was
born his father died. That luado It neces
sary for all tho children to go to work ns
noon as they could to help support their
mother and each other. At tho ago of 10
he worked In a grocery store. During tho
winter of his thirteenth year ho harvested
Ico on the Hudson river. At 18 he Btruck
Ills first Job on a railroad, ono of the con
struction gang shoveling In a gravel pit.
Various promotions followed In tho operating
department of tho Long Island railroad, and
In every position ho stuck to his rulo of
ncqulrtng all tho Information possiblo about
tho operation of tho road.
SnrprlnlnK' 1'roniutlon.
Ono day, young, Vroelandyas, dotalled to
ct as brakemau on a special train which
was to take tho now officers over tho road.
At that ttmo thcro wasn't much about tho
Long Island railroad that Mr. Vreoland
didn't know, and during tho trip ho was
called upon to answer many questions. Tho
day nfter tho president of tho road sent
for him. In fear and trembling the young
man answered tho summons. When ho was
admitted to tho president's ofllco a surprlso
was In storo for him. Hero la tho story
nnd iMr. Vrceland told it In an artlclo In
Success:
"In due tlmo I was shown Into tho pres
rnco ot tho great man, who eyed mo closely
for a rulnuto or two, nnd then asked
abruptly what I was doing. I told him I
was braking No. 17. Then he said: 'Take
thla letter to your superintendent. It con
tains a request that ho relievo you from
duty and put some ono elso in your place.
After ho has dono so como back here.' I did
as directed and on my return to tho presi
dent ho Bald: 'Take this letter at once to
Admiral I'eyron of tho Kronen floet (then
lying In tho harbor on a visit of courtesy to
this country) nnd this to General Hancock
on Governors Island. They contain Invita
tions to each to dlno with mo tomorrow
night at my homo In Garden City with tholr
staffs. Get their answers nnd, If they nro
In tho affirmative, return at onco to New
Vork, charter a steamer, rail for thorn to
morrow afternoon, land them nt Long Island
City, arrango for a special train from Long
Islnnd City to Garden City, take them thero
nnd return thorn after tho banquet. I leave
everything in your hands. Good day.'
"I Hupposo this might bo considered rather
a large Job for a common brakeman, but I
managed to get through It without dis
gracing myself and apparently to tho tatls
faction of all concerned; for somo time
thereafter! was tho president's special emis
sary on several matters connected with tho
general conduct of the business, and whllo I
did not, perhaps, learn so very much about
railroading proper, I was put In positions
where I learned to tnko responsibility nnd
camo to havo conlldcnco In myself."
Mnkluur tlip lloiid ia.
It was not long nftor this that tho Long
Island railroad ngnln changed hands and
Mr. Vrseland was ono of thoso who, ns he
putH.lt, was "permitted to get out as easily
nnd quickly as poralble." Ho had accom
plished by this tlmo, however, a part of his
purpose In life, namely, to ncquiro a com
prehensive knowledge of running a steam
railroad, and ho wasn't long out of a Job.
Ho left tho Long Island road in 1881 and It
wns only a short tlmo afterward before ho
got a Job ns conductor on tho Now York &
Northern railroad. Vrceland was practically
running the road in a very short tlmo aftor
he wont with It. The road was not paying
cxpenset. and thcro woro not uuy really
practical railroad men directly engaged in
operating it. There was llttlo travel becauso
It ran through a sparsely settled section of
Tutnam couuly. Vrceland had only boon
with tho road a comparatively short tin.
when ho found out Its condition, and ho
made up his mind to do what he could, al
though ho was only a conductor, to remedy
I. .1 .
it. hp Kiirw uinv ruiiroan must, in a wuy,
llvo off tho couutry through which It runi.
Thero weren't any people to speak of In
that country, and tho few who woro thero
traveled little, so ho concluded thero was
no uso trying to mako tho road pay from
passenger traffic. Having como to this con
clusion he set about finding out what tho
people of that particular section of Put
nam grow that thoy had to get rid of.
About the only product wns milk. He found
that most of tho farmers kept as many cows
s they could find pasturo for, and in ono
nay or another got their milk to New York.
Mr. .Vrooelnnd didn't know any reason why
that milk rhould not bo shipped over tho
New York & Northern railroad. He found
that ono reason why tho farmers wouldn't
Bhlp It over his line was they woro not
willing to haul It any great distance to get
to the trains.
"Don't you bother about getting your
milk to tho cars," said Mr. Vreecland to ono
of tho largo Putnam county dairymen ono
lay. I'll attend to that." And so, with
out consulting anybody In particular, he
made arrangements for a sort of pony ex
press to cart tho milk from tho dairies to
the line of his road. This ran along for
awhile until It suddenly dawned upon tho
directors of the road that, through soma
miraculous legerdemain tho toad, which had
paid next to nothing, wns paying Its run
ning expenses and Its fixed charges. Thoy
made Inquiries, and tho only answer they
got was: "Go seo Vrceland, tho conductor.
Ho knows about It." Thoy went to seo
Vreoland, tho conductor, and asked him how
ho did It.
"Carrying milk," was the laconic reply.
"Whero do you get tho milk?" naked ono
of tho directors.
'Illght along the lino of tho ' road,"
answered Mr. Vreoland.
"Why didn't wo get this business long
ago?" was the next question.
"Glvo It up," said Vrceland. "OueFs
they'vo always boon growing cows up hero,
and cows that are good cown glvo milt, and
thcro aren't enough people In all Putnam
county to drink all tho milk the cows give
up hero In nlnoteon years. I found tho
farmers wero selling their milk In New
York and so I Just went after tho business.
That's all there Is to It."
Urn I nn an nn Anct.
Tho fact that tho Now York & Northern
railroad was beginning to pay attracted the
attention of capitalists, among whom wero
William C. Whitney, Daniel S. Lamont and
others. Ono day Mr. Whitney and n party
of friends went over the road to Inspect
It. Mr. Vreoland accompanied tho party.
Mr. Whitney and his friends asked a great
many questions, nnd thero was not ouo that
Mr. Vrceland could not answer. Resides
he volunteered a lot of valuable Informa
tion. As the party wns returning Mr. Whit
ney, 'Who had never heard of Mr. Vrecland
before, nsked:
"Young man, In thcro anything about this
road that you don't know?"
Mr. Vrceland smiled and showed his white
teeth, a habit which still sticks to him,
and said nomethlng to tho effect that ho
guessed ho knew as much as anybody about
It. Tho capitalists went one way and Mr.
Vreoland went another, nnd ho did not seo
or hear anything moro of them for some
months. Ono day ho received a telegram
from Mr. Whitney nsklng him to meet him
on tho afternoon of that day at the Uroad-
way and Seventh nvenuo ofllco of the Met
ropolitan Traction company, as the Metro
politan Street Hallway company was then
known. Mr. Vreclnnd did not know what
was up, but ho kept tho appointment. Mr.
Whitney was not there, but a nolo ad
dressed to Mr. Vrceland was. The note
read:
"Mr. II. H. Vreoland: Dear Sir At a
meeting of tho stockholders of tho Houston
Street, West Street and Pavonla Ferry ltall-
road company, held this day, you were
unanimously elected a director of tho com
pany. At a subsequent mcetlnc of tho di
rectors, you "wero unanimously elected
president nnd general manager, your duties
to commence immediately. Yours truly,
"C. K. WARREN, Secretary."
Ily virtue of that note Mr Vrceland was
Jumped from n steam railroad man to a
ourfaco railroad man, and he at onco be-
camo tho head of the Metropolitan Traction
company. That wan In 181)1.
I'olltlcnl lMilM Stouppd.
When Mr. Vreoland became tho president
of tho roads of the Whitney syndicate, tho
system was n collection of separate roads,
each under a separate manugemont and each
separate management absolutely convinced
that Us road was altogether the most Im
portant ono In tho entire system. The first
nnd, perhaps, the hardest and the best work
Mr. Vreoland over did for tho Metropolitan
system was to perfect Its organization. At
least, that Is tho opinion of somo of tho
men who havo furnished tho money with
which Mr. Vreoland Is operating. Shortly
after he became the head of tho system two
men camo to his office ono day, told him that
they had been discharged, that they couldn't
find out what for, and wanted to know If
they couldn't have their Jobs back. The
fact that a man should be discharged with
out oven having tho satisfaction of knowing
what ho was discharged for seemed to Mr.
Vrceland a pretty tough state of affairs,
and ho told tho men he would look Into the
matter.
Ho did so and tho state of affairs that he
found not only surprised him, but made him
mighty mad. Ho found that the reports on
nil the lines showed that there were dis
charged on an average ten men a day. Ho
couldn't understand such a procedure. It
didn't seem to 111 in possible that the men
employed on the road wero such a poor lot
that it was noccssary to discharge ten of
them every day, and ho concluded to find
out how they were appointed. Inquiries
brought out the fact that nearly every man
In tho employ of the road secured this em
ployment through political Influence. As
semblyman This or Alderman That had to
find a Job for some of his constituents, and
no found tho Jobs needed on tho Metropoli
tan lines. .Mr. Vreoland also found out that
when Assemblyman This or Alderman That
had rorne more constituents who required
Jabs, It was Immediately concluded that tho
first lot had worked long enough, and orders
went out to the under bosses on the road to
discharge so many men and to put so many
new ones In their places,
Mr. Vrceland Raw at once that If he was
going to bavo any system about the running
of his properties, this sort of business
would have to stop. Ho then and there Is
sued an order that no man should secure
employment by tho Metropolitan compnny
through political Influence, and that no man
should be discharged so long ns he did his
work satisfactorily. If this rulo was vio
lated by any of tho under bosses Mr. Vree
land requested that It bo reportod to him by
any employo of tho road, no matter whether
he wero a shoveler or a division superin
tendent. Slowly but surely it began to
dawn upon the heads of tho different
divisions that the new head of tho system
moant to be boss and that tho main office
was down nt Houston street and Ilroadway,
and not In tho various division offices.
Tho men began to understand that tho now
head of tho systom was their friend and a
good man to tlo to. They havo never had
reason to change their opinion of Mr. Vree.
Innd. He has always been a friend of his
employes and has always been ready to help
them. That they appreclnto thla Is shown
by the loyalty with which they support him.
Last summor when somo of tho now men on
the Second aenuo line undertcok to got up
a strlko on the whole system, the attempt
failed utterly and, as will be remembered,
not a lino of the entire system was tied up.
This was because thero wero enough men
nmorig tho 4,000 employes of the system
who knew that If they had any real griev
ances against the road they could settle
thom with tho president without resorting
; to a strike. For this reason the strike
failed.
Mr. Vroeland, In spite of tho fact that Iili
great success has como through the manage
ment of the surfneo railroads, la regarded as
one of the best experts In the United States
on steam railroad property. His opinion as
to the values of a road and Its equipment Is
regarded so highly that bis services are
constantly In demand by the men who make
11 their business to reorganize roads, to ex
amino properties that aro to be reorganized
and glvo his opinion as to the value of the
plant and tho earning capacity of the road.
. It Is Mid that for such, scrvlco Mr. Vree-
land Is paid as high as $1,000 a day, and it is
known that one railroad man said the other
day ho considered the advlco that Mr. Vrce
land had given to blm about a certain rail
road property to bo cheap at twlco that
amount.
LIVELY TIMES ON THE PLAINS
Varitd ExperiencM of in Old Rostlir Now
Stttlid in Beaton.
BUFFETING INDIANS AND BAD MEN
SiiIiIIpt, L'nt (Ipiiimii, Armj- Driver a ml
I'pnpp (Jtmrillnn Home IMkIiIh
He AVIInmnril or I'nr
tlclinitpit In,
Charles K. Bazln, now a resident of a
Hoston suburb, spieled i long story of his
experiences on the plains to a correspondent
of tho New York Sun. Dazln evidently saw
considerable llfo In the west In tho 'way
back times when a passing month was filled
with moro stirring Incident than ten mod
ern years. From the '50s until tho early
'70s he ran tho gamut of western llfo ns
army teamster, soldier, rancher, cowboy,
city marshal nnd deputy sheriff. Tho days of
the Abilene cattle trail and tho men ot tho
great areas of buffalo grass that rangol
from Texas up through Kansas, Nebraska
and eastern Colorado, aro a part of Uazln's
life. Ho crossed tho Sierra Ncvadas with
Hank Monk, tho most famous of the Rocky
mountain stagcdrlvers. llazln was In Placcr-
vnio tie day Hank brought In Horace I
Greeley from over tho mountains. Ho served
ft term as city marshal of Hays City, Kan.,
the town celebrated In the annals of the
cattle days and tho "bad men."
"No," ho said, "I halnt no Impossible
things to Bpeak of as I recollect. I should
only be nblo to give a runnln' glance at what
I know as tho true west. To me, tho true
west was Intercstln' 'nough. It was In 1S3I
that I enlisted In tho United States navy,
being set at duty on tho sloop-of-war Deca
tur.. I was Just 17 years old. We left Ilos
ton In Novomber and went to tho West
Indies. Wo were In search of the San Fran
cisco, I think It was, that had been lost.
Wo wero at St. Thomas and Santa Cruz.
We put In at Norfolk. Va., where I shipped
on a government lighter nnd went to Toxao.
I left seafaring at Indlannla and hired out
ns a government teamster. I drove from
Corpus Chrlstl southwestwnrd to Ringgold
barracks, about 130 miles, and from Rlng
gold to San Antonio, 150 miles, and from
San Antonio to Fort Davis In Presidio
county, western Texas, 350 miles.
"That country was pretty rough In them
days, prairie dogs, coyotes, rattlesnakes,
greasers, Indians, nnd ns far as the eye
could reach, rollln' plains. My team con
sisted of six mulct) nn' I drova tho whole
kit with ono line. It took us many weeks
to mako our way up to San Antonio and on
to Fort Davis an' back. No road, only n
sort of trail, nn' nlways had to bo kecpln' a
sharp cyo out for tho cuesed Indians. Wo
had generally about fifteen wagons In a
common mule train, nomctlmes ns mnny ns
twenty-flvo went nlong and seldom less than
eleven. Wo usually drovo from sun up to
nbout noon or 2 o'clock. Then we'd halt for
camp, nlways, of course, lookln' out to get
as good a place ns possiblo for water nn'
graoj. We'd herd out tho mules to grnzo
'till next mornln'. ench tenmster takln' his
turn nt tho hording. Them teamsters was
of about all kinds ot humanity. Yankees,
Kcutucklans, Mexicans nnd fellers from all
over creation. We got $30 a month and ra
tions. On to Suit I.nkp.
"In 1858 I Joined the outfit under Colonel
Douglnra and wo started for Utah. When
wo reached Chimney rock on tho South
Platte, we came across tho topees of a band
of Sioux, but they was friendly, for General
Harney had Just licked 'em llko blazes nt
Ash Hollow. Wo talked with some of 'ora
nnd they told us bow Harney had cleaned
'em by ueln' cavalry. They would put tho
two fingers of their right hand over the
forefinger of their left nnd wiggle their
flngcra so as to show us that the soldiers
had horses. General Harney was a great
Indian fighter. He was on his way then to
Utah to nttack tho Mormons and he passod
us on our trail. Ho was rough In his wayn,
but full of grit I can tell you. He wns
cussln' a teamster ono day, I remember, an'
the teamster finally told him that If he,
Harney, didn't hnvo on a general's uniform
he, the teamster, would glvo him n thrashln'
ho'd novor forgot.
" 'All right!' tay Harney, and he Jumped
down from 'his horso, yanked off his coat
nnd they went nt It. The teamster did lick
him, too, nn' did It tp a finish, but Harney
took his trouncln' like n man nil the name
"Wo got to Salt Lake In October, I think
It was, nnd I soon Joined a party that was
heading for California. Wo had three wag
ons. At our first comp, there wns a Mormon
come to seo us and wanted us to all turn to
tho faith and cald he could get two or three
nice wives for each of us. Ono who bns
never been among tho Mormons ns they used
to be in those times has no Idea of how
dlsgustln' their ways was. Why, they talked
about havin' droves of wives Just as you
would refer to a drove of cattle. Wo re
warded this particular Mormon by every
body asslstln' In ktckln' him out of camp
nn' as bo toro through tho sagebrush, wo
put tho toes of our boots whero he could
most feol and heed 'em.
"When we was near Dead Man's Bend on
tho Humboldt river, ono of tho party saw
some sagehents a kind ot pralrlo chicken,
an' as I had my gun on my knees, I turned
to .throw off n coat I had wrapped around
it to keep tho lock from gettln' rusty an'
as I did so, tho man drlvin' called to mo:
'Better look out or you'll get shot." Well,
he hadn't moro 'n got tho words out of his
I mouth, before tho hammer which was set
' at half cock did go off. This scar on the Hide
, of imy faco and this blind right cyo shows
what happened. A half-Inch over, nn' it
would havo been tbo end of me. They
bound my eye und head In Indian fashion,
not washing off the blooj but putting sugar
on it, nnd I laid there on n blanket whllo
wo crossed tho desert. That was forly
j miles an' not a drop of water or anything
to eat for our mules. I stuck It out all
' right though an' wren wo got to Mottvllle,
, In tho Carson Valley, I stopped off for re
j pairs. The doctor fixed mo up some and
operated on my eye so that the sight was
partially restored for a time.
"In February, '69, Hank Monk, drivln' a
sleigh for tho Wells-Fargo people, took
mo over tho Sierras to Placervllle. Just n
tho California side. Monk was a wondorful
hand with a team and no mUtako He'd
push a team along for all thcro was In "em
! nn' sometimes It looked to mo ns we was
I bound to pitch nil In a heap down n moun
tain ride, but iMonk'd haul up them leadera
I nlways on Just tho nick o' tlmo. I tell you
'twas a grand sight, some o' tho 'scenery
I over them mountains. Them scrub plnoa
I an' aspens stnndln' out on the ranges liko
I pickets an' the sun n-turuln' the snw a
' bluish purple tinge. I hired out to tho
' livery In Placervlllo an' took care o' the
stago horws, for my wound had bunged mo
up eo'st I wa'n't as able as usual. Tbo day
Horaco Greeley was duo thcro we was all
out a'waltln'. When old Horace got out o'
I that Concord coach we all gavo him a whcop-
log send-off an' he looked kinder puzzled,
i Ho had on that famous old whlto hat anil
hie right trousers leg was hitched up over
his Lost top. Ho was a curus lo:kln'
critter, sure enough.
I On (hp IIiiiiKh of Hip .loriliui,
"When the ?lvll war broko out thefo was a
'company rain J to be K troop of tho Second
.California, at I Joined 'em. We wont to
j 'Frisco to br mustered In. The mustorln'
. nfK:er was uno o' tbem strict, law-abidln'
; regulars, an' when ho got bis peepers on
me, he says: 'See out o' that eye. mo
man?' 'Some,' I sayB. 'Close yer left eye
an' see 'f ye can nee this,' aa' he stepped
off a bit an' held up somcthln', but 'twas
no use. I couldn't mako out what 'twas.
'borry, my man,' says he pert as a rooster,
'but I can't take ye.' But I stayed with the
boys, Just the same, by turnln' company
cook. In August, 1SC2. we was ordered to
Salt Iake an' we at on.e set off over the
mountains. When we reached the river
Jordan, forty miles west of Salt Lake,
Drlgham Young sent a messenger warnln'
tho troops not to cross that river Into the
Mormon country. Our colonel told the mes
senger to tote back word that "twould be
crossed If 'twas nt tho gates o' hell.' We
camped right across the valley so we could
sweep the whole Mormon Institutions. Wo
had a twelve-pound howitzer and them Cali
fornia fellers was dead shots with their
guns, so wo wa'n't worried much over the
Mormons. A guard for provost duty was
Btatloned nt the gntrs o' tho Tabernacle.
What did the Mormons do but close up the
gates an' make nn' opening on t'other side!
They was so afraid tho gazo o' our troops
would harm their pretty Mormon maids, I
s'pose.
"There was a Mormon come Into camp
ono day an' approached a sergeant nbout
buyln' arms. It appeared he wanted a lot
o' rifles an' was willln" to pay for 'em,
part in money nn' part In vegetables. A Job
wns put up on him, nn' when he come In
next day with the cash an" a load o' vege
tables, ho was given somo guns from which
tho springs had been taken an' after he'd
got off three-quarters of a mile, a posse set
out after blm nn' arrested tho erlttcr. A
trial was held nn' he wns put In the peni
tentiary. There was n private another time
ll., 1.3,1 ,, nUlnl I hit t,n,1 l thn
Mountain Meadow mnssacrc an' he set great
storo by It. Thero was a Mormon hangln'
around his tent one day. an' the soldier .
steppln' out for n minute, tho Mormon j
snonKcii in an sioie mo pisioi. rue noys
finally ketched tho critter an' tho colonel
ordered him put In the sweatbox. This was
a room Just big enough for a man to stand
up In an' dark ns pitch, with only a llttlo
oponln' nt the top to lot In nlr. Kvery five
minutes water was thrown over Mr. Mormon,
but ho never flinched, though tnc water the
boys used was taken from the river an'
the Ico had to bo broko beforr they could
get it. We never saw that varmint around
tho camp again.
Itiixlilim thp iiitiimiN.
"In tho spring of 'C3 thero had been two
families of emigrants, consisting of thirteen
pernon.i, killed and forty men of Troop K,
with Captain Snm Smith and Major Geary
commanding, was wnt after the guilty In
dians an' I went with 'em. We went over
Gooso Creek mountain an' the first night wo
camped wo had six feet of snow for a change. 1
Wo had no tents nor nothln', but we cut ,
willows nn' sturk 'em in tho snow, bendln' I
'em over llko the bows of n wagon. Over ,
thla wo throwed our saddle blankets nn' had ,
protty fair shelter Just the samei Tho n-xt
day wo camped on Gooso creek. We turned
tho course of tho creek nn' balled out tho
holes an' in tho flrnt hole we got 100 trout,
making a lino supper. Tho next day wo
como upon some Indiana nn' captured six.
Wo kept four ns hostages an' sent the. other
two to bring In tho guilty Indlnns, an' If
they didn't we was to kill tho four wn kept.
The two didn't show up. an' nt sunrise thoy
hadn't returned, so we took out tho four nn'
put bullets through 'cm. I found, when we:
como upon the place where the emigrants ,
had bpon murdered, some young girls' stock
Ins' In tho butihes where tho rod devils had
taken 'cm. an' somo pieces o' drosses. ,
Young feller, that's a point on the risk
that emigrants took In makln' homes In tho
far west. Th sight o' them clothes helped
to spur us on. an' before wo give up the
Job wo'd killed twenty-seven Indians an'
not lent a man. i
"It was December, 'C3, that tho Bear river'
fight took place, up near Soda Springs, In I
Washington territory. Thero wns a hundred
men in thi set-to. Including part of Trcop
K and L of our regiment. There was two
rect or snow on me ground nn it was hard
glttln' up there. The boys laid the troublo
any way to the MorWrfs In Incltln' tho In
diana to deviltry. When the boys got mld
d'ln' close, every fourth man was told off to
hold the horrcs an" the rest crept up an' i
when tho Indians discovered em, the boys
could bear Pocatello. the chief, who could
speak Kngllsh, n-challengln' 'em to 'como
on.' An' tbe boys did. 'Twas soon each
man for himself, but before tho fight en Jed
our men had lost twenty -three killed an
nbout thirty wounded, while nut of over 400
Indians, only somo fifteen got nway' How's
that for flghtln'? Thero wan some thlng-5
that wns kinder comle that happened right
In tho midst o' the klllln'. There was a
scout nnmcd Charllo Drown, a llttln fat Ger
man he was, an' when the body o' the red
eklns bogan to make off thero wns some that
j crept Into their tepees an' hid under the
, buffalo robes an' things. Brown was pokln'
Into a tepeo an' kctchln' hold of a blanket
. nn' ns he yanked It, up sprung n big bui-k
an' they was n death struggle en In a minute.
: Tho Indian got Brown down an' was draw-In"
I a knlfo an' as Brown see It he sung out
1 loud, though as cool as a encumber
j " 'Comp quick or there'll be a dead Dutch
! man?'
"Lieutenant Qulnn run up and shot the
buck. A lot o' homes that the Indians had
stolo was taken back down to Salt Lake.
One day thero was n Mormon In camp who
claimed one o' the horses. Tho colonel says
to him: 'You're suro that's a Mormon
horse?' 'Yes,' says the Mormon. 'Positive
of It?' 'Yes,' said tho Mormon ugaln. 'You
miserable thief!' saya tho colonel, 'do you
seo thnt U. S, on that horse's flnnk? Here
boys, tie thin critter to a wngon wheel an'
thrash tho hide off'n him!' nn order the
bojs took pleasure In follcrln' out.
"Along In the spring o' '61 1 went to
Orubbs Wells, close to the Utah end Nevada
line, an' hired to the Wells-Fargo lino ns
cook. Then I went to Ben Holllday's over
land stage line and worked ns cook nt L.I
Porto, on Big Thompson creek. On Jnnu
nry ft, '5, I succeeded In gettln' enlisted
In troop B, First Colorado cavalry. By that
time tho war 'd gone on so'ut they wa'n't
so .blamed particular nbout a feller havin'
two oyrn nn' If he was willln' to enlist, a
volunteer musterer was pretty likely to take
him. I was mustered out November C, '63,
at Fort Garland In the San Luis valley. Then
I took to government tenmln' from Denver
to Fort Lupton. In 1867 I wns transferred
to Fort Itlley, an' from there I was tenmln'
to various forts, Darker, Lyon, Larncd nnd
Shorldan.
ItpPOllPPlloilM Of Willi
" 'Twns a great country for game in them
days. We'd often see buffalo nn' nntelope
In tho distance, whllo the Indian kept
steady watch of us, though they didn't often
threaten to nttack us. It was In Kllsworth
county, In '87, that I first saw 'Wild Bill.'
Wo was comln' toward tho fort on' Bill was
goln' out. Hp was n splendid lookln' man,
straight as nn nrrer, with eyis like bends,
an' mounted on a magnificent big bay. Ho
stopped nn says. 'Howdy, boys.' an' talked a
few minutes. I seo him a good many times
aftor that an' comm to know him quite
well. Bill was an nstonlshln' man an' no
mistake. He measured forty two inches
nround tho chest nnd tbe rtf' of him wns
made out In proportion. Iong hair In fact,
bo Is said to havo been the plainsman to
havo originated that ideean' blue shirt,
with a pair o' heavy Colts, ho would 'a' been
a strikln' appearln' feller on Treinont street.
'.'He was a wonderful band with u gun.
Ho could easily put every shot of u tlx
ehooter whllo rldln" ns hard as his horse
could go In a six-Inch clrclo on the top of n
powt. When Bill wns in Hays City ono tlmo
thero was an Irishman Jumped on Bill from
behind. Bill had been hurt n few days be
fore by fallln' off n car an' was lamed up
badly, so the Irishman got Bill down, but
Bill killed him for bis undcrtakin' an' then
killed the feller's pardner who was comln'
up to help his chum. Whllo he wos city
marshal of Abilene, Bill was attacked onco
by n feller who como up behind him with n
knife. There was a lookln' glass In tho
wall ot the barroom, so 't Bill seo him
comln', an' ho brought his revolver over h'ls
shoulder an' plugged the feller cold. Bill
could shoot, you seo, either handed, nn' It
didn't matter whether tho gun was upside
down or In whnt position.
" 'Twas In Ablleno thnt Bill had the
scrapo which finally cost him his llfo up In
the Black Hills. One night Bill shot n
man who had refused to give up his gun.
In the darkness a 'man run up suddenly an'
Bill, supposln 'twas a pardner o' the eno
Just killed, shot him In turn. When he
found tho second man was his own deputy
Some of the Cured.
CHAHLK3 W. TIPPETT,
Tippecanoe, Ind.
Cund of ltralytti.
J0KL8H0KMAKF.lt.
North Ynklmn, Wnab,
Curedo l.ocomotorAtaiia.
Mrs. M. C. WHITE,
Mason, W. Vs.
Curedo irulptlt.
Mrs. HAIUUHT DF.OOLE.
Ypsllanll, Mich.
Cured of 7irfinf
Mrs. EMILY SEAMAN,
SI Do Witt fU, llutlnlo, N. Y.
Cured of Xervoui J'roslratton.
Mrs. H. T. HALIHBlTtY,
11 Kollett Ht., Pawtucket, It. I,
Curedo Locomotor Ataxia.
11. N. WABNEIt,
Mlnden, Neb.
Curedo lira!iits
JAMES SHEITON,
llourbon, Ind.
Cured 0 IKiratytli.
G. II, HNYDEIt,
Lawrence, ICnn,
Cured o Creeping IKiralytlt.,
Mrs. MINNIE FIKPI.EIt,
Mt. Plcasnnt, Iowa.
CuredoSt. Vitut' Vance.
The nbovn nr a few ours from
hundrcdt cured t.y Dr. Williams'
Pink I'illi. If you ar nervous
mlTerer. write ut. Advlco will cost
you uotblog.
Severe
Nervous
Disorders
That Dr. Williams' Pink Pills
for Pale People have cured ob
stinate cases of locomotor ataxia,
partial paralysis, mid St. Vitus'
dance, is the best evidence that
they will cure all lesser nervous
disorders, because the principle in
the treatment of nil nervous dis
eases is the same. Nervousness is
a questioff of nutrition. Kood for
the nerves is what is needed nnd
the best nerve food in the world
Dr. Williams'
Pink Pills
for Pale People
Or. Williams Pink Plltt for Pile Psopla ire never
sold b the doien or hundred, but always In pack,
agti. Atalldrugolits. or direct Irom the Dr. Wil
liams Medicine Company. Schenectady, N, T., (0
cents per boi, 6 bans S2.B0.
r -vr
who had oome to assist him, lit 1 1 felt ter
rible. I don't believe he ever got over thnt
preyln' on him. He went up Into the llllla
nn' 'twns thero thnt ho was finally shot
from behind by the brother of the man ho
had killed In Abilene for refusln' to put up
his gun. The time Hill was killed he was
slttlu' In n chair playln' cards. The bullut
comln' from behind went clean through his
hend, camo out under the eye an' hit an
other man in the arm. Though Hill's death
was nlimost instant nn" ho never knew what
hit him, It's a marvelous fact that when
ho fell to tho floor both his pistols were In
his hands nn' one won cocked. You see. the
Instinct to shoot operated as quick with him
as tho wliiklu' of nil cyo. Indeed, In tho
old days nn the plnlns, If n man shot nnother,
tho bullet had to bring Immediate death or
tho shooter's own life wasn't worth n pic
ayune. "I remember 'twas sometime between '70
and '73 that I'ete l.anlgan. sheriff of Ellis
county, Kansas, was shot by a gambler
named Harris. Tho latter coolly walked
down to Tom Drum's salonn, nbout n hun
dred ynrdtt distant, and Lanlgan was loft to
welter In bis- own gore. Though mortnlly
wounded, Iintgnn managed to crawl on his
belly that hundred yards to tho saloon nn'
as Harris wan reachin' for his glass o'
whisky on the bar, Lanlgnn raised on his
elbow an' put a slug through Harris' head.
Ho dropped as dead ns a herring, while I.an
Igan lived a few hours. That was what I
call sand, I tell you."
sliy. Ho demands a snug sum In advance,
too, on which to hno u good time nt the
fiestas before ho nettles down to several
months of drudgery. No native Indian has
to work for white men In the tropin In order
to gain n livelihood. His wants nro few. hit
nmbitlon In limited to n deslro for enough
to eat, a thatched hut and n llttlo cotton
cloth. The hut ho can make for himself
Thero nro llsh in the river and game In tho
forest. There Is plenty of unoccupied land
upon which ho can raise u few cereals to
trade for tho things he cannot produce him
self. T'herc Is no wlntur to provide ngnlnst,
nnd, though the rainy dayH como oftwi In
summer, they only nienn moio rest.
J. Q. Hood, Justice of tho I'encc, Cronby,
Mlsfl., makes tho following statement: "I
can certify that Ono Minute Cough Curo will
do all that U claimed for It. My wife could
not get her breath nnd tbe first doso of It
relieved her. It hns nlso benefited my whole)
family." It nets Immediately and cures
coughs, colds, croup, grippe, bronchitis,
asthma and all throat and lung troubles.
woitic oi, vni:. 'rimy i'i.i:,M2.
Mexican I'ooiin An- tin- Mont I iiiliiuil.
-ut l.nlMiri-rn mi Unrtli.
Observers of Industrial conditions In
Mexico nssert thnt, ns far ns they bnve noted,
there Is no moro Independent person In the
world than tho Mexican laborer. Especially
Is this true of tho peon of the tropK-s. It
would semi that he works for Americans
who havo big plantations to develop moro as
a matter of accommodation than from necoi-
I IIIIImk 1ir Ib-l'i-oiliict.
One of the rnOMt frerrtient methods of re
ducing' maiiuracturltig expenses has been
to tlud n sale for the by-products resulting'
from the work of the factory. In the busi
ness of manufacturing electricity for nubile
Humily. wht'io Hteam power Is iiseil. the
only available by-product Is exhaust utenm
This steam coutnltiK much of the beat of
the furnaces which are fired to produce It
when It Is discharged into the nlr nnd It
entirely available for steam-beating pur
poses. In certain towns In the westoru
Mutes, notably in Wisconsin mid .Mliinesntn,
whete tbe winters urn long nnd severe the
electric light stations have laid svstems of
underground pipes and have supplied stenm
heat and hot water to citizens tbrnujli
them. The experiment has been an umiuall
Hod muccckh. tile citizen receiving the ncrv
Ico bclnr freed from tbe slavery of the
furnace, while tbe electric light companion
have enjoyed a considerable revenue f.o
an otherwise vasted residuum. I'
thought that many electric light and i ,
way stations in tho colder half of the i nm
try will Install plpo systems for the utllij!.i
tlnn of their waste stenm In this way next
winter.
2
4S
SPEAKING GOOD ENGLISH
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As one acquires the slime of the street on a muddy day, bo one gathers the
slang of the street by contact with careless people.
A Good Dictionary is an Armor Against Ignorance
The public is possibly prejudiced in favor of old Btyle, old time,
antiquated and worn out dictionaries.
THE STANDARD DICTI0NA
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BY FUNK & WACNALLS.
is accepted everywhere by scholars because it satisfies them. It is in fact, aa well as name, "Standard."
Tuo arrangement is naw the style different the scholarship superior tho plan most completo
and it is here that "The Standard" shows its sup eriority over other works of the sort.
One important feature
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The publisher, Messrs. Funk & Wagnalls of Now York, spent nearly one million dollars in preparing this
work, but the public appreciates it most heartily. Here aro some ot tho testimonials:
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omer, editor, snyn: "It nnasen the wit of man to MiRRest unytlilns
which otiKlit to have been donu that has uot been dono to make this
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Kiia." Dlt. .1. W. 1'AIjMKII, writes: "I do not liesllnte to say that the
STANDARD DICTrUNAHY Is triumphantly the best of nil Kngllsh
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compounds Is systematic. . . Tho editor has achieved a highly
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which tho mortem tendency to popularize knowlodgo has risen to tho
highest level yet reached."
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It Is mi out-and-out new product and not. like our old dictionaries,
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